Kathleen Hunter Baker

Kathleen H. Baker, 96 of Newport News, Virginia passed away on April 17, 2013. Kathleen, known affectionately as "Granny B" by her family, is survived by her son, Bob Hunter and his wife Georgia, two granddaughters, Marsha Hunter Gray and Susan Hunter Engler, her grandson-in law, Jeff Gray, and her great grandchild, John R. Engler, all of whom reside in Hampton, VA. She is predeceased by two husbands, Hugh R. Hunter and Furman C. Baker. Born during the polio epidemic of 1916, Kathleen contracted the virus at age 3. Her survival gave her a fierce spirit of strength, independence and determination. Although her legs were damaged by polio; she did not allow her limitations to define her. She worked a full time job to provide for her family, retired from Roses Department Stores after 50 years of employment, was a loving mother, homemaker and devout Christian. For over 30 years (1560 Sundays!) she taught Sunday school at Newmarket Baptist Church in Newport News, VA. During the last years of her life, Kathleen was a resident of Coliseum Park Nursing Home in Hampton. While there, she remained active as a volunteer and served on the Resident Council. Her family is sincerely grateful for the care provided to her by the staff of Coliseum Park. The family will receive friends for visitation on Saturday, April 20th at 12:30pm at Parklawn Wood Funeral Home, located at 2551 N. Armistead Av in Hampton, VA. A celebration of life service will also be held on the 20th at 2pm in the Parklawn Wood Funeral Chapel, followed by burial in Parklawn Memorial Gardens.